To think first come first served is bullshit

[Pantone363]

and is actually just "which parents can come up with the spare cash the quickest?"

Music lessons at school, £70, first come first served.

AIBU?

I have wofled in Secondary education (teacher) for over 25 years. I have never seen a rigged 'hat'. Where behaviour was a risk factor with a trip, criteria for selection have been clearly stated in advance. Some trips have been organised specifically for challenging pupils (which the well behaved majority rather resent, actually). Is this a primary school problem? It's not ins I recognise from my many primary teacher friends and family.
Is it another MN myth?

We've had this it my childs cubs. It took a while to click that if you don't run back into the hall the night you get the heads up or get the letter about trips, then the following week is too late. When i mentioned this meant that some kids were missing out whilst the same kids went the trips they just stuck to their "first come" mantra. I don't understand if some kids miss a few trips, why they can't get the option of the next camp or trip.

I think there is some truth in what Naty said. When my child was left out of activities it made me question what happened the rest of the time. How much learning rather than containment was going on.

honkinghaddock

the truth is that it made you question, not that the teacher had no control.

There is more to coping with a child than being in control.

honkinghaddock

Yes there is.

but there is still no "truth" that a teacher who doesn't take a child on a school trip isn't coping in the classroom.

*my issue, obviously is that teachers, in a position of trust are abusing it, partly to benefit themselves.
what else are they doing in this manner, choosing play parts? *

Unlike excursions, play parts, at least at our school, are based on which role would benefit which child the most. Some children need the confidence boost, some would rather die than be center stage. We have a few students who act professionally (one performs in theatres, one on television) and they don't get the main parts, they don't need it, other students will benefit more. We had one child who barely saw her father due to deployment and the one year he was home at performance time we made sure she got one of the major roles, likewise a child with an ill parent who passed away soon after. It's a juggling act to give everyone a role that suits them best, which is why we usually write our own plays so we can get the right mix of roles.

A child not going on school trips can be part of the evidence that a school is not meeting a child's needs. If a child's needs are not being met, then whoever is teaching them is not coping with them. This is not true in every case of a child not going on a trip but it is true in some cases.

Honking

It could mean a lot different things, but without knowing the in and outs of what has gone on it would be difficult to know who to apportion the "blame" to.

howabout - yes, it is independent but I didn't realise it was any different in any school. I thought music tuition was music tuition. The cost is the same as a private tutor because it is private tuition. Our peris also teach pupils in the evenings at the same rate. But again, I thought it was the same everywhere, I didn't know there were cheaper ways of learning music. So ignore me!

I think policies differ across local authorities manic. DD1 and DD2 have individual lessons for one of their instruments at school for a combined cost of £200 a year. The Ops figure of £70 seemed roughly in line with our set up. Obviously this is heavily subsidised and therefore rationed as is instrument loan.

Good that you are highlighting the true cost as I am not sure parents always realise the value of the subsidy.

Always worth doing a bit of research. I was looking into the VAT free purchase scheme for new instrument purchase but decided on a better quality second hand instrument. Having bought the instrument I would be able to resell it and recover enough to make it better value than paying rental costs.

Most of the people I know use a combination of school, private, ensemble and master classes / holiday courses. I think it also changes over time depending on progress and aspirations.